Generally, refrigerator appliances include a cabinet that defines a chamber for receipt of food articles. The chamber can be, e.g., a fresh food chamber or a freezer chamber for storage of fresh or frozen food articles respectively. An ice maker and/or storage baskets can be mounted within freezer chambers.
Certain refrigerator appliances include a divider that extends from a wall of the chamber into the chamber. The divider separates the chamber in sections. For example, in the freezer chamber, the divider can separate the freezer chamber into a first section and a second section. An ice maker can be received within the first section, and a storage basket can be mounted within the second section. The divider separates the chamber and also supports the ice maker and basket mounted within the first and second sections respectively. Other configurations are possible as well.
In certain refrigerator appliances, the divider is mounted within the chamber using a cross-bar. The cross-bar extends from a left sidewall of the chamber to a right sidewall of the chamber and supports a front, bottom portion of the divider. The back, top portion of the divider is support by fasteners inserted into the top of the chamber and/or by an additional cross-bar.
Using the cross-bar to support the divider can create problems. For example, an additional basket can be slidably mounted beneath the cross-bar. Food items stored in the additional basket can snag on the cross-bar as the additional basket slides out of the chamber. Similarly, food items can wedge between the cross-bar and the basket and prevent the additional basket from opening and/or closing properly. Also, the cross-bar consumes valuable storage volume within the chamber and can be visually unappealing. Further, minor variations in the dimension of the cabinet between the left and right sidewall can cause the cross-bar to not fit properly within the chamber. In addition, certain manufacturers produce a range of refrigerator appliances with varyingly dimensioned freezer chambers. Thus, a cross-bar that matches each of the varyingly dimensioned freezer chambers may be required.
Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance with features for mounting a divider in a chamber of the appliance without a cross-bar would be useful. Also, a refrigerator appliance with features for mounting a divider in a chamber of the appliance such that valuable storage volume is preserved would be beneficial. In addition, a refrigerator appliance with features for mounting a divider in a chamber of the appliance despite minor variations within the chambers dimensions would be useful. Also, a bracket for mounting a divider within a chamber of various refrigerator appliances with varying dimensions would be useful.